Future Southern Belle

First Look vs Walking Down the Aisle

Jenna — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:07:17 +0000

This is the ultimate guide to choosing to do a first look vs walking down the aisle being the first time you and your groom see each other. Doing a first look on your wedding day or deciding to wait until you walk down the aisle is a very personal decision. For me, I wanted to wait until I walked down the aisle. It seemed traditional, and what I had always envisioned for my wedding day. However, after much debate with my (amazing) wedding planner, Linda, as well as my (fabulous) wedding photographer, Karen, we came up with the perfect solution. Fist Look Pros Having a first look just the two of you is a beautiful way to experience seeing each other for the first time in an intimate setting with just the two of you. This may also be a chance for the both of you to exchange more personal vows to each other. This also is the choice of most photographers that I spoke with. Wedding timelines are stressful, but when you incorporate a first look, it alleviates the need to cram all your photos into the cocktail hour. If you’re the type of person who wants to spend more time with your guests and partake in the cocktail hour, this is for you! First Look Cons I think most people’s hesitation with doing a first look is that their groom will only cry once when he sees you. Believe me, this is NOT the case. My husband cried at our first look and when I came down the aisle. The day is overwhelmingly emotional for the both of you and there are plenty of (happy) tears to go around. The only real con of doing a first look that I can think of is that people think it will take away from that first walk down the aisle. For me, it didn’t, but I can see why people would be hesitant to do this if they thought it would take away from that moment. Walking Down the Aisle Pros Whenever I looked at wedding videos or photos, I always saw the bride walking down the aisle and her husband crying when he saw her. That’s what I wanted for my day too. It seems like the perfect way to get the shot while also maintaining the excitement of not seeing each other before the wedding. I love the concept of this, but with wedding timelines, it’s not always feasible. Walking Down the Aisle Cons When you wait to have your first look as you are walking down the aisle, you miss out on a lot of pictures. When we were discussing the pros and cons of doing a first look vs walking down the aisle, we would have been missing out on 400+ pictures of our wedding. Not to mention, having our wedding party not able to partake during the cocktail hour because we all would have been taking photos together. To me, pictures were very important to me as I was paying a lot for them, so the more the better. That was our number one influence to getting us to do a hybrid approach to our first look. The Happy Medium The happy medium approach to doing a first look vs walking down the aisle was taking a little bit of both and blending them. Before our ceremony, we had our first look pictures before we got into family and wedding party pictures, before we went into our ceremony. We opted to have our families at our first look – immediate family and spouses only. They stood in a line that created an aisle for me to walk down. With Kevin turned the other way, I got into position, he turned around and his reaction is my favorite to this day. A blend of excitement, happy tears, and an overwhelming sense of gratefulness that lead us to this moment right here. It was the perfect happy medium of having a first look and walking down the aisle for the first time. We managed to take all of our wedding photos prior to our ceremony so we could have our wedding party eat during the cocktail hour. During the cocktail hour, Kevin and I took our newlywed photos. Plus we ended up with 1,400+ photos of our entire wedding thanks to doing a first look! You can read more about how I set the tone for our wedding day here. I also did a lot of prep work for getting my skin in great shape for our wedding. You can read more of what I did here. My photographer, Karen, also got some great shots of my beautiful engagement ring which you can read about here. XoXi, All photos captured by Karen Schanely Photography.

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Our Stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali

Jenna — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Our stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Bali was like living in a dream! From the moment we landed in Bali, we knew that we had chosen the perfect place to kick off our honeymoon in Bali. This post will give you an inside look into the first property we stayed at in Bali. Our First Impression When we first landed in Bali, the Ritz-Carlton had a private driver waiting for us. We walked out of the airport, and saw all the hotels/drivers lined up on the side. We saw our sign for Mr. and Mrs. Waszkiewicz and walked right over. They took care of our luggage and then surprised us with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers! The flowers were a wonderful way to be welcomed to Bali, and to the Ritz-Carlton. Then we drove to Nusa Dua where the Ritz-Carlton property sits over looking the Indian Ocean. The staff was there to greet us, and take our luggage to our room for us. The lobby sits above the rest of the property and the views alone made our jaws drop. The service staff came over with Balinese cookies, juice, and champagne and walked us through the room, options among the property, the restaurants, and other amenities. Thanks to our credit card, we got a double upgrade for our room to the Ritz-Carlton Suite with lagoon access. Unfortunately, the room was still in need of a final inspection, so they offered to take us down to the Beach Grille for lunch. Talk about a first impression, the view from the table they sat us at was incredible! The palm trees, the view of the ocean, the stunning landscape, it was a sight I hope to never forget. The Ritz-Carlton Bali Suite Our room probably deserves its own post, but for now, a section will have to do. Beacause it was our honeymoon, the staff went above and beyond to make it special for us. They gave us a special cake, decorated a heart made of rose petals in both the bathtub and our bed! Plus they even had cute animals that they made from our towels. As soon as you walked through the doors, you entered into a hallway that went back into the rest of the suite. We had a huge walk in closet where the staff unpacked all of our clothes and shoes for us. The room was equipped with not one, but TWO bathrooms! The bed overlooked the living room and the lagoon. The bed was the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. The bathroom was gorgeous and boasted a walk in shower and a jacuzzi tub both of which overlooked the lagoon. The room was our sanctuary for the next week! The Grounds The grounds were on another level. Everywhere you turned, there was lush greenery, tropical flowers, and beautiful views of Bali’s nature. They meditative spots that overlook the koi pond that is in the middle of the property. There’s paths all around the resort that boast gardens and Bali’s beautiful landscape. Just take a look at the incredible images below of the resort property! Dining on Property The dining options at the Ritz-Carlton Bali was unmatched. There are five different restaurants on site. We ate at every single one of them and I wrote an entire post on what we ate, and my overall review! They range in different styles and cuisines like Indonesian, tapas, buffet, and American. Below are pictures from breakfast and from the lobby. Amenities Of course, most of the days we primarily stayed by the pool and lounged in our beach cabana. We got into a nice routine of going to the gym, and then hanging by the pool for the afternoon before going back to our suite and relaxing in our own pool before dinner. The pool at the resort is incredible so we enjoyed our time just lounging and relaxing near it. There is also a huge Spa that has an assortment of different treatments available. Kevin and I opted for a super relaxing couples massage. We also participated in a pilates class with their onsite fitness guru! The resort has daily activities that range from morning yoga, to nighttime bonfires and plenty of activities throughout the day as well (like surf class!). Along with the incredible activities that you can participate in at the resort, we had a few activities planned off site. The Ritz-Carlton arranged for a private driver for both of our excursions and it was very reasonably priced. The concierge service at the hotel was so accommodating and helped us make reservations at an offsite restaurant and arranged for our transportation to our next hotel, with a few stops along the way! All in all, our stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Bali was an unforgettable experience. Every part of our time there was sensational. From the moment we checked in, to the sadness we felt leaving, the whole stay was one that will live in our memories forever. What a start to an EPIC honeymoon! XoXi,

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Everywhere We Ate At the Ritz Carlton, Bali

Jenna — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 21:41:28 +0000

The restaurants at the Ritz Carlton in Bali deserved their own post. The food at this resort was next level. There are five restaurants on site, plus room service and dining experiences to choose from. Each restaurant features a different style of cuisine which makes them all unique. Restaurants At The Ritz Carlton, Bali Bejana Bejana is an Indonesian style restaurants on property that was amazing! We opted for the chef special which was a 5 course meal and definitely one of the best meals we had at the Ritz Carlton. We had it on our last night and kicked ourselves for not coming sooner so that we could have gone multiple times. I have to say, this was probably our favorite restaurant. The food was incredible and we highly recommend doing the chef special. There was SO MUCH FOOD! We were in heaven. Each dish was brought out as “family style” meaning we served ourselves and thank goodness, because I would not have been able to eat some of each dish otherwise. The Beach Grill The Beach Grill is where we first ate lunch when we arrived and it was definitely the best view overlooking the ocean. This was a great lunch option for us since it was close to the pool. We got several meals from here but nothing will beat the first time we ate here. They didn’t have our room ready yet, so they offered to shuttle us down to The Beach Grill and grab some lunch while we waited for our room to be cleaned. I got the caesar salad and it was prepared unlike any other caesar I’ve had. The dressing was so creamy and delicious! Breezes Breezes is a tapas style lounge that we ordered from a lot for lunch as we were sitting by the pool. The first day we got a pizza that had prosciutto, arugula, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar that was so good. All of our drinks came from Breezes too. There were a few favorites like the Pina Coladas, and this dragonfruit style drink that was delish! The Ritz Carlton Lounge and Bar The Ritz Carlton Lounge and Bar is a great option because it overlooks the entire resort. We ate there a few times, but our favorite was doing the afternoon tea that they had. Cute tiny sandwiches with all sorts of pastries and desserts. Delish! We also had dinner there the first night. I got this incredible rice and curry dish. I loved their take on all different kinds of cuisine. This dish in particular was Thai inspiring and it did not disappoint! Senses I saved my favorite for last – breakfast! Senses was the incredible restaurant that had the breakfast buffet. Buffet doesn’t even begin to cover the spread that the Ritz Carlton in Bali put out for breakfast. It was broken up into American, Indian, Vegetarian, Asian, and Indonesian breakfast stations with incredible food options from all over the world. We mostly stayed in the American section because that’s the type of food we prefer for breakfast. They had everything from eggs, to pastries, to fried plantains dipped in condensed milk (our fav!) and fresh squeezed juices every single morning. This was by far the most elaborate and the freshest breakfast spread I have ever witnessed. The pastries were made in house every morning, and the fruit was carved and cut right in front of you. The chef could also make anything you requested (in my case avocado toast with poached eggs and a drizzle of hollandaise sauce). The chef outdid himself! Final Thoughts of the Restaurants at the Ritz Carlton, Bali In my opinion, the best restaurant on site was for sure Bejana. I wish we hadn’t saved it for last because I would have gone there more than once. The least impressive (for dinner) was the Ritz Carlton Lounge and Bar. It would have been better to go there during the day (like we did for Afternoon Tea) because it overlooks the whole resort. At night, it was just too dark to see anything. Overall, every restaurant was incredible. We didn’t have a bad meal during our entire stay. While the food in Singapore was fantastic, the food we experienced in Bali was even better! Next up, I’ll be covering our dining experience that we did through the Ritz Carlton, Bali! XoXi,

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The Search for the Perfect Ring

Jenna — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000

The Search Continues This is the story of how Kevin and I found my perfect engagement ring at Tiffany and Co. Now let me start off by saying that everyone has a unique story when it comes to their engagement ring. Please keep in mind that this is my own unique story of how Kevin and I came to find my perfect ring. That does not mean that I have anything against any of the other jewelers. This is just a reflection of my own personal specifications of what I was looking for in a ring. Exploring Our Options This is when we explored other jewelers besides Tiffany’s. While I had always dreamed of having a Tiffany and Co. engagement ring, I also wanted to explore other options because Tiffany’s engagement rings can be pretty limiting in terms of the selection. So then we went to a commercialized jeweler. An engagement ring is a big purchase and everyone’s is unique. We simply wanted to know what other options we had for purchasing such a special and meaningful ring. After looking at the options given to us by the sales representative, we sat down to consult with her regarding what we had envisioned our ring to look like. We explained that we wanted the emerald cut with a halo, as well as diamonds along the band. The coolest thing about this experience was how easy it was for them to create what we wanted. They were able to take a center stone diamond that we picked out, and add it to a band that already had diamonds and a halo. How cool is that?! While we were impressed with their efforts, as well as the affordability aspect, we both agreed that we wanted to keep looking. The second store that we went into was a family owned jewelry store. Blue Diamond Jewelers was amazing to work with! They were able to customize the ring we wanted, and were willing to work with us on the price. The service we received went beyond our expectations. I can’t say enough great things about their team. But both Kevin and I wanted to keep looking. Our third store that we visited was ROUGH to say the least. We went to the Diamond District. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least. Would not recommend going here to get an engagement ring. We were disrespected, talked down to, and their selection of ring options was less than optimal. Why We Chose Tiffany’s Ultimately, it came down to not only the ring, but the experience. Tiffany’s is an experience like no other. The staff is amazing, they know their stuff when it comes to choosing a ring and they choose quality over quantity every time. We spent countless hours working with our sales associate to ensure that we were getting exactly what we wanted. I tried on all different sizes, cuts, and styles until I found the style we wanted to go with. See how I didn’t say “the one”? That’s because while I was involved with the ring process, once we found which style we both liked, I wanted Kevin to take it from there and ultimately choose and pick out the ring he wanted to give to me. Needless to say, Kevin did amazing! The ring he chose was perfect. I have small fingers, so I didn’t want an overly large ring because it would look gaudy on my finger. He chose a beautiful emerald cut with a halo band around the center diamond. The band has diamonds about half way down as well. The quality of not only my diamond, but the entire ring is impeccable. It’s a platinum band which means it’s the most durable material a band can be made of. Tiffany sets the standard as far as engagement rings go, by exemplifying the brilliance of the diamond by how it sits on top of the band. My engagement ring from Tiffany and Co. is exceptional quality, and Tiffany’s standards of what they sell for their diamonds is extremely rare. I also loved how on both the halo and band, they are individual diamonds, instead of crushed diamond excess which most other engagement ring halos are made from. The Tiffany’s Experience The Tiffany’s experience was so memorable for both of us, it deserves its own section. When Kevin went back to the store to work with the sales associate to purchase my engagement ring, they gave him champagne and ushered him back to a private room to allow for a more luxurious buying experience. This was also what occurred when we went back to Tiffany’s to purchase both of our wedding bands as well. Fast forward to a few months after our wedding, we were in New York City and I needed a different size wedding band and needed my engagement ring smaller, and we had a similar experience. We were given champagne, a private room, and they were able to swap out my wedding band with a smaller size that day. They were also able to do a quick turnaround (less than a few hours) to reduce the size of my engagement ring – which is unheard of! This was such an incredible experience that had such a profound impact on us that we will continue to give Tiffany’s our business. You can read all about our New York City Tiffany’s experience here. All photos are by Karen Schanely Photography. You can see more photos of our engagement shoot here, and our wedding here. Highly recommend hiring Karen for your engagement shoot or wedding photography, she’s amazing if you are local to Charleston, SC! XoXi,

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La Mer Review

Jenna — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Let’s talk La Mer review of their beauty products! I was SO nervous to buy La Mer products. Let’s just put it out in the open: La Mer is expensive. Yes, there has been claims that Nivea is a respectable dupe for the groundbreaking moisturizer, but I had to try it for myself. With my American Express Platinum card, I receive $50 every 6 months to use at Saks Fifth Avenue. I decided that I would utilize my credit to buy a La Mer gift set that included their Créme de la Mer and their legendary lip balm. Créme de la Mer Let’s start with the most anticipated review: Créme de la mer. This creme is uber luxurious. While it does have a similar consistency like Nivea, I found it to be very different in a few areas. Having tried Nivea before and ended up the hospital as it was too thick for my skin barrier, I was nervous that this would be the same. However this cream sank right into my skin and visibly looked more hydrated than with other creams. I did test out this cream for both day and night use, and during the winter months when my skin tends to be on the drier side. I started off using it just at night, and used a different moisturizer during the day. But after a few weeks, I noticed how sad my skin looked during the day when I wasn’t using it. I switched to using it for both my AM and PM routine, and it made all the difference. Keep reading and I will spill the tea on whether or not I will repurchase this product! La Mer Lip Balm Secret time…I actually was only looking to purchase the lip balm from La Mer. I ended up finding a gift set at Saks which included the créme de la Mer! So let’s get into the La Mer review of the lip balm. I’ve tried my fair share of lip balms. I am religious about putting it on every single night before bed. Typically most nights I use vaseline lip therapy with coca butter. I’ve also used Laneige lip sleeping mask in the past too. Personally, I found the vaseline lip therapy to be the closest dupe to the La Mer lip balm. The consistency was a lot thicker than the Laneige lip mask. The La Mer lip balm has more of a peppermint taste on the lips and I really liked that. It smelled like luxury – LOL. Overall, I really liked the lip balm, but in terms of other lip balms in the market, there are better options. I keep the La Mer lip balm in my purse now and do find myself reaching for it out of my other day-time lip balms I carry. The true test in my opinion will come from my 19 hour flight to Singapore in September. That will be the true test to see if my lips really do stay hydrated and moisturized throughout that flight. Will I Repurchase? The short answer is yes. My skin was incredible while using the créme de la mer, and my lips felt more moisturized while using the La Mer lip balm. However, I will only repurchase the gift packages so that I can try out other options from the La Mer line. I think for the price tag, I want to get the most bang for my buck. I would only repurchase the cream in particular during the winter months, because it would be too thick for my skin during the warmer months when my skin tends to be more hydrated. So those are my thoughts! I am super excited to continue doing beauty reviews for products that I like, and for products that didn’t work well for me. I am a full believer in there isn’t a “bad” product out there, but there are products that work better for me personally. That can be based on multiple factors, but that is my philosophy and what I will continue to say while reviewing products. Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more. If you have a product or brand you want me to review next, leave it in the comments below! XoXi,

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Singapore Travel Diary

Jenna — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 19:04:59 +0000

Welcome to my Singapore travel diary! I’m going to take you through where we stayed, ate, and visited. We only had 24 hours in Singapore since it was our layover so we made the most of it. Where to Stay When choosing our Singapore hotel, I was looking for connivence, uniqueness and of course, luxury. This was the first stop on our honeymoon and I wanted all the vibes. The Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel hit all the boxes. With the “hotel in a garden” theme it encapsulates Singapore’s clean environment throughout the city. It also was within walking distance of all the places we wanted to visit. Where to Eat Ahhh the food in Singapore was exquisite. We arrived in Singapore around 0600 so coffee was the first thing we knew we needed. We started our morning by going to a little cafe near our hotel named Merci Marcel. The coffee was exactly what I needed! Next we stopped by the famous Ya Kun for Singapore’s favorite breakfast dish, Kaya Toast. It was delicious to be able to have something authentic to Singapore. Kaya toast has bread that is toasted and sandwiched between butter and kaya which is a coconut jam. Delish! For lunch, we decided on venturing out to a Hawker center. It’s more of an open food market. We went to a well known Hawker center called Maxwell Food Center. We were on a mission for the Hainanese chicken rice dish which can be found at the Tian Tian stall. The smell of the Hawker center I could have done without, but the food was incredible. For dinner, we made reservations at Cherry Garden in the Mandarin Oriental. The cantonese food that they serve is phenomenal. We enjoyed everything we ordered. Pro tip, split the peking duck it was life changing. Both Kevin and I agreed that it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had, and would recommend if you’re looking for a restaurant and places to eat in Singapore. What to do in Singapore To be honest, our trip to Singapore mostly revolved around food. The only “sights” we saw in Singapore was going to the Marina Bay Sands hotel for the rooftop bar views as well as the Gardens by the Bay. We stopped at the Marina Bay Sands after walking around the Merlion statue (which happened to be under construction while we were there). This is definitely a place to visit if you’re looking for things to do in Singapore. We managed to grab seats at the bar at Spago by Wolfgang Puck. The drinks were incredible – and incredibly expensive. The views did manage to ease the cost of the drinks however. Kevin and I also walked around the mall that is across the street from the Marina Bay Sands. It’s a huge mall that has multiple levels and is a luxury shoppers dream that’s filled with all of the best luxury shops. I would highly recommend checking it out if you’re looking for things to do in Singapore. After our incredible dinner at Cherry Garden at the Mandarin Oriental, we caught the light show at the Gardens By the Bay. This was an amazing show! Highly recommend if you are in Singapore at night, to catch the light show. Things to Note about Singapore Do yourself a favor and don’t try to walk all over Singapore. The Uber equivalent is called Grab and it’s extremely easy to use! We didn’t end up using it until the tail end of the day, and we regret it. Our feet were destroyed by the end of the day and had we known, we would have just used Grab all day and been able to see a lot more of Singapore. Read up on all the local laws in Singapore! They have built a beautiful city and want to keep it clean. Yes, there is a law against chewing gum in Singapore. I would highly recommend (with any country you go and visit) that you read up on the local customs and laws. We only had around 26 hours in Singapore and we are so glad that we took advantage of our layover and planned a day around the country. It is a beautiful country and so easy to enter the country. We were able to obtain a day visa pass and it was so easy to get online. Have you ever been to Singapore? What were your favorite places to visit? Comment down below! XoXi,

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2022 Recap

Jenna — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 02:49:32 +0000

Our 2022 recap! This year in review has been extra special for us. From getting married, to traveling, to buying a house, this year was one for the books. What a great year 2022 has been for us!

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24 Hours In New York City

Jenna — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 23:07:21 +0000

A whirlwind of a trip, but having 24 hours in New York City was the perfect amount of time. New York City is the kind of place that when you visit, it’s overwhelming. Between the tourists, the people that actually live there, and all of the horns blasting, it’s a place I quickly want to leave as soon as I arrive. I truly felt that 24 hours in the city really was the perfect amount of time. Read below to find out why! Our Itinerary: 24 Hours In New York City When we landed in Newark Airport, we priced out an Uber as well as a taxi. We also had previously asked some of our friends about taking the train into the city, but we were advised to avoid the trains because of the rise in crime. It was slightly cheaper to do a taxi so we decided on a taxi. We arrived in the Big Apple on a Sunday afternoon. I had done minimal research before our trip to look at restaurants that didn’t require a reservation because I knew I wouldn’t have the time to make them before hand. Sometimes it’s just easier to make decisions on the fly than planning everything out. The research I did do was all food related, as per usual. We were staying right in Times Square at the Westin. We didn’t want to take taxi’s everywhere so I tried to find places that were within walking distance. I did over-estimate some of our ability to walk for that long. We made it, but we struggled. Bars The first bar we went to was Haven Rooftop and Bar. This bar was so awesome! Not only was it a rooftop bar, it was also decorated as Christmas Chalet in Switzerland. Twinkling lights, greenery, and cozy blankets made me instantly feel like I was in a Hallmark Christmas movie. Since we were so exhausted, we decided on espresso martinis. Definitely one of the better espresso martini’s that I’ve had. Sometimes I feel like they can be hit or miss if they aren’t made with the right flavor of vodka. The second spot we hit up was a classic, The Palm Court in the Plaza Hotel. I will say, the drink I got here was hands down the best drink I have ever got, but also the most expensive. $30 for a drink is certainly the most I’ve ever paid, but I like to think of this as more of an experience than just a drink. It was a pumpkin martini that was made with real pumpkin puree. I can’t find the actual drink on their menu online so if you know the name of it – leave it in the comments below! Kevin and I were shopping around at Bergdorf Goodman and decided to get a drink at the bar on the 7th floor. I got an espresso martini and to be honest – I’ve had better. It was very heavy on the espresso so next time I will order a different drink. But, the views were incredible! The cafe overlooks central park so you really can’t beat it. Restaurants We ate dinner at a small Italian restaurant called Uva. Wow oh wow this restaurant was incredible. We started off with a glass of Nero D’Avola and it was divine. Definitely my new favorite red to order. I suggested we try the ricotta bruschette as an appetizer and I’m so glad that we did. The creamy ricotta with the black truffle honey on top was so amazing. For dinner, I ordered the cavatelli al fior di pesto. It is made with homemade pasta so I couldn’t resist. Kevin decided on the gnocchi di ricotta which was cooked in a creamy chive sauce and topped with black truffles. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it. To continue our 24 hours in New York City, we woke up on Monday and headed to Sarabeth’s. I got the popovers with the green and white scramble which had scallions and cream cheese. Kevin also got eggs and we both agreed that they were the BEST eggs we’ve ever had. So light and fluffy. I’d like to say that our food tour of New York City is over but we stopped at one last place before leaving the city. We stopped at Ess-A-Bagel for bagel sandwiches. I ordered the BLTA on a plain bagel and it was great! I only say great because I ordered it with cream cheese and they didn’t add it. We were in a rush so I decided to just eat it as is. It was really good but I still think having cream cheese on it would have made it even better. Things To Do While spending 24 hours in New York City, its imperative to plan your time wisely! We were staying in Times Square so luckily that was within easy walking distance. We checked out Times Square and it lived up to the hype. There was so much going on it was dizzying. We also went to Grand Central Station and saw the beautiful ceiling of the building. Our final stop and the reason for the trip, was to go to the Tiffany & Co. headquarters. It was love at first sight! Five floors of sparkling diamonds. It was magical. We were there to get my wedding and engagement ring resized. Kevin and I also were there to find our wedding gifts to each other. I’ll do another blog post on what we went with for our gifts. 24 hours in New York was the perfect amount of time to hit the highlights, and have amazing food. We were definitely impressed with how good all of our food was. It was such a fun weekend and a great getaway for us. Be sure to check out my Duck Key blog post if you are looking for a sunnier destination this winter! XoXi,

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How To: Prep For The Wedding (Botox)

Jenna — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:31:32 +0000

Receiving botox is a personal choice for everyone. This first post in my How-To series leading up to my wedding is about my personal experience with botox. It’s important to note that receiving botox is a personal choice. I wanted help with relaxing my facial muscles so that my face didn’t hurt as much when I smiled all day long. It’s so tricky to know when to start treatments and preparing for your big day. I’ve outlined my specific schedule in my How-To series, to hopefully help you brides know when to start yours. My number one recommendation is to trial EVERYTHING. Haven’t waxed before but want to before your big day? Do a trial! Not sure how long to let your spray tan set in against your dress so you have a glow instead of a noticeable tan? Do a trial! First time getting botox so you can smile properly through all of your pictures? Do a trial! Get it yet? Botox So while I said above that you should get a trial for EVERYTHING leading up to your big day? Well I didn’t and that is why I am making it a point to tell all of you to get trials of everything. Weddings are a day that will be heavily photographed, both by professionals and your loved ones. While I didn’t look bad by any means, I do wish I had trialed a few things in advance. That being said, I received botox (for the first time) eight weeks before my wedding. My thought process was that if I received botox far enough in advanced to my big day, then the movement in my face for my wedding would be perfect. I did get a touch up four weeks before my wedding and that helped with refreshing my face. What Dosage Did I Get? I got 25 units of botox total. Your esthetician will be able to provide you with the appropriate dosage depending on the look you are going for. For myself, I received 12 units in my forehead, 12 units for my crows-feet (6 around each eye), and 1 unit for my gummy smile. I felt my dosage was perfect for me to look relaxed for taking pictures and smiling all day throughout my wedding. When I smile, my eyes definitely get smaller. It’s something I see in all photos of me, and the crows feet dosage really helped with opening up my eyes. The gummy smile unit also helped drop the side of my lip that tends to be pushed up when I smile. The photos below show how the botox really helped with all of my concerns! Where Did I go? I went to Cameo Facial Aesthetics in Mount Pleasant. I did a lot of research on their Instagram and was so excited to see that they are very reputable. They are always going to new trainings and learning more in their field. It made me feel comfortable knowing they are always up to date on the latest techniques and methods for injectables. I will also note that they were willing to work my budget as well during my consultation. I opted for less units than they suggested so I could stay within my budget but still achieve the look that I wanted. It was a great experience and I highly recommend them if you are in the Charleston area! If you liked this wedding content, be sure to check out my other post about setting the tone for your wedding day! XoXi, All photos captured by Karen Schanely Photography.

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Wedding Website: Setting The Tone For Your Day

Jenna — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 18:13:15 +0000

Now that our wedding is only a few months away, I’m excited to start sharing our journey to planning our dream wedding. We found that the best way to dive into wedding planning, was looking at the tone we wanted to set for our wedding. The first thing guests see are your wedding website and your stationary. It sets the the tone for your day, so you want to ensure you look for ways to clearly show your guests what the vibe will be. In the early process of wedding planning, I focused on wedding websites. I wanted to have a wedding website that matched our stationary. A wedding website and wedding stationary set the tone for the wedding and indicate to the guests what the vibe of the wedding will be. Wedding Website I did this kind of backwards, I will admit. Kevin and I looked at wedding website templates before we looked at stationary options. I just crossed my fingers there was a matching stationary set! Luckily for me, there was a matching set of stationary that went with my wedding website template. As I started to think of my wedding vibe, I was concerned with us getting married outside and in the summer. I didn’t want my wedding to come off as too casual or rustic. To counteract that, we went for more of a formal wedding website and stationary set. I was aiming at classy, clean and formal for our stationary. We had been looking at different options for who to go with for our website and stationary. Ultimately, we found that Minted had everything we wanted in a wedding website template. We opted to upgrade our free website to include a custom URL which was a one time fee of $15. Since we wanted people to RSVP online, we found it worth the $15 for our own URL. Pros of Minted I looked at a few different options before I decided to go with Minted. In addition to Minted, I also looked at The Knot and Zola for wedding websites. When setting up the website, I really liked how user friendly it was. I was quickly able to figure out how to use the pages and different options for layouts. It was a very easy process to input the information I wanted. A few of the things we were looking for in a wedding website was the ability to do a photo gallery. We had so many engagement pictures that we wanted to share. I was also looking for the option to have an events page. Since we chose to get married on a big holiday weekend, we wanted it to be more of a wedding/celebration weekend and not just a one day event. We wanted to share with our guests all of the events we were inviting them too. The events page made that very easy to put in details for our wedding, as well as our welcome party. It also had a map at the bottom of the page where guests could click on the event, and the map would automatically pull up on Google maps. There was also the option of adding on additional pages which I found very helpful. With us tying the knot in such a beautiful city, we wanted our guests to know what there is for them to do for the weekend. On our website, we included an additional page for ‘Things To Do’. Our wedding is a destination to everyone except for us, so most of our guests will be staying a few extra days. We wanted to include activities for our guests to do as well as some of our favorite restaurants. Cons of Minted Although I loved our wedding website, there was one process that I wish would be improved. For our rehearsal dinner, we were required to gather meal options from our guests that were attending. The only option was just for guests to write in what they wanted. I think the design element could be improved by doing a click button for what each guest wants for the first course and second course. This would eliminate people forgetting to include what they wanted, or only putting in what they wanted for the first course, and not the second. That is really the only part of the website where I felt could use a little improvement. Overall Thoughts On Our Wedding Website I really loved our wedding website! It definitely helped set the tone for our wedding to be more of a formal affair. The script text along with the clean colors helped make the vibe more formal. We have started to receive RSVP’s and are having so much fun tracking when they come in. I love how easy it was to use Minted. Everything about the process was so simple. We were able to get what we were looking for in a wedding website and stationary set, all in one place! Kevin and I have received so many compliments on our website as well. I would love to hear about your wedding vibes below! Tell me all about what aesthetic you were going for, and how you incorporated that vibe into the details. XoXi, Photo at the top was captured by Karen Schanely Photography.

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